1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a coaxial cable connector used for connection of a coaxial cable with a contact unit mounted on a circuit board, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate the connection process of a coaxial cable with a coaxial cable connector widely used hitherto in this field. Referring to these drawings, a nut 10 is slipped onto a coaxial cable 11, and a sheath 12 is removed at the end portion of the coaxial cable 11 so as to expose an outer conductor 13, as shown in FIG. 1A. An inner insulator 15 inside the end portion of the exposed outer conductor 13 is removed, an end portion 13a of the outer conductor 13 is made narrower, and a washer 14a, gasket 14b and clamp 14c are then slipped in this order onto the sheath 12. At this state, a collar of the clamp 14c is caused to abut on the end face of the sheath 12. As shown in FIG. 1B, the outer conductor 13 is then cut to a given length, its netted wires are unraveled, the thus unraveled portion is folded down and disposed on the outer surface of the clamp 14c as indicated by 13b. The exposed inner insulator 15 is then cut to a given length to expose a core wire 16, and this core wire 16 is also cut to a given length. The core wire 16 is inserted into a hole of a female contact 17, soldered and secured in place, as shown in FIG. 1C. At this stage, the coaxial cable 11 is inserted and fitted in a jack body 21, and secured by turning the nut 10 with respect to the jack body, as shown in FIG. 2.
On the other hand, when it is desired to form a plug type connector, a male contact 23 (see FIG. 3), in place of the female contact 17, is secured to the core wire 16 of the coaxial cable semi-finished as shown in FIG. 1B. At this stage, the coaxial cable is inserted into a plug body 22 and secured in place by turning the nut 10 with respect to the plug body 22, as shown in FIG. 3.
As is apparent from the foregoing, the conventional coaxial cable connector needs a number of parts or segments, its structure is complicated, it can hardly be miniaturized and is not suited for a machining work. Further, there are several parts which must be attached previously to the coaxial cable at the time of connection; thus, if any parts were left unattached the assembling process must be started over again. Furthermore, before attaching the plug body or jack body to the coaxial cable the exposed length of the inner insulator 15 and/or core wire 16 must be defined precisely; if not, the contacts 17, 23 cannot be positioned at a given location inside the bodies 21, 22 in directions along the axial center. Accordingly, the connection was not easily made in case of the conventional coaxial cable connector.